Claudia Ella Williams was killed in a road traffic collision in Guilden Sutton in June 2013

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A prosecution lawyer has said a 22-year-old man accused of causing the fatal crash which killed his girlfriend has shown an ‘unwillingness to accept responsibility’ during his trial at Chester Crown Court.

Making his closing speech on Monday (October 5), Benjamin Myers, prosecuting, described the case as ‘very sad’ but urged the jury to use their common sense and experience when considering whether Richard Bromley, of Daniell Way in Great Boughton, is guilty of two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Mr Myers said: “The human tragedy is obvious and it is natural to feel strong emotion.

“It may be natural to feel sympathy for Mr Bromley who, but for all of this, seems to be a decent young man.

“There are no answers in sympathy.

“Justice and fairness lies in the evidence.”

Bromley claims that his girlfriend Claudia Williams ‘shoved’ his left arm during an argument while he was driving his Vauxhall Corsa on School Lane in Guilden Sutton on June 24, 2013.

Miss Williams, who was 19-years-old, was killed instantly.

Prosecution case

Mr Myers said that whatever Miss Williams did or did not do, ‘we are here because of how Richard Bromley was driving’.

“The prosecution case is that he drank too much, he drove too fast, he did not concentrate on what he was doing and all of that played a part in his losing control in coming out of that bend,” he added.

Earlier in the trial, Bromley told the court that he drank three and a half pints of lager between approximately 6pm and 9pm on the night of the tragedy.

But Mr Myers rejected this, saying that ‘in all likelihood’ Bromley had drunk more than that.

Mr Myers reminded the jury of the evidence of toxicologist Dr Mark Piper, whose analysis of a sample taken from Bromley more than two hours after the collision found that the level of alcohol in his blood was ‘not less than 111mg of alcohol to 100ml of blood’ – the legal limit in England and Wales is 80mg of alcohol for 100ml of blood.

“Mr Bromley will accept no blame for any part of what happened,” Mr Myers said.

He also suggested that the defendant can be ‘less than frank when he wants to be’, citing the omission of any alcohol consumption from the prepared statement he gave to police during his first interview.

“It really covers a lot of detail,” Mr Myers said.

“We know however upset he was at that point, he is quite capable of putting down details that he wants to put down.

“He chose not to mention alcohol.

“The prosecution say it is obvious why and significant.

“It shows also that he knows how significant a part alcohol has played in this.”

Defence counsel Phillip Lucas countered, during his closing speech, that ‘alcohol consumption played no part’ in the events of June 24, 2013 and accused Mr Myers of ‘banging the alcohol drum very loudly’.

“The defence say that the accident was not caused by an argument or excessive speed or alcohol consumption,” Mr Lucas said, referring to the couple’s diagreement as ‘merely the backdrop’ in the case.

“This is a case where the vehicle was suddenly, without any notice whatsoever, steered to the left.”